As the use of mobile electronic products, such as PC notebooks, PDAs, cellular telephones and the like, continues to increase, the need for low cost, compact power supplies to power and recharge these products also continues to increase. Most manufacturers of mobile products typically include plug-in power adapters along with these mobile products to help facilitate the power supply needs of their customers.
Today's power adapters are typically AC-to-DC, or DC-to-DC power converters which are configured to either step-up or step-down the DC voltage input delivered to the mobile device. With AC-to-DC adapters, for example, users can power most mobile devices by simply plugging the adapter into a simple AC wall outlet commonly found in most homes or offices. Similarly, when only DC input power is available, such as in an automobile or airplane, users can still power their mobile devices by simply using a standard, off-the-shelf DC-to-DC adapter. Normally, both adapters are designed and tailored to provide a regulated DC output voltage, which typically range from between 5 VDC to 30 VDC depending on the kind of mobile device being powered.
Although these power adapters conveniently provide direct power and recharging capabilities, users are often required to carry separate adapters to provide power to each individual mobile device. This often means that users have to carry multiple adapters: one for an AC input power source, and another for a DC input power source, moreover, users typically carry multiple adapters to power multiple devices. Thus, by carrying more than one device at a time, users of mobile product users are forced to carry more than one bulk power supply adapter.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a power converter that resolves the system management problems associated with carrying all of the different power supply components necessary to power a wide variety of mobile or portable devices. Moreover, such a power converter would advantageously encompass serving the power supply needs of several different mobile devices, as it would supply a filtered and regulated DC output voltage in response to either an AC and DC input voltage. Moreover, by having a power convert or having multiple output terminals, users have the ability of providing power to several mobile devices of varying power requirements, simultaneously, regardless of whether the input voltage is AC or DC.